recipe
yields
4 servings
1 2-4 pound octopus
¼ cup dry white wine
2 quarts of water
½ cup olive oil
Peel of ½ orange
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon Hatch chile powder
1 teaspoon Pasilla chile powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon Arbol chile powder
2 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole coriander
3 dried chipotles, stem removed
1 roma tomato, charred
½ white onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
½ cup water
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 small jicama
1 chayote
1 lime
Pinch of Hatch chile powder
ingredients
For the Jalapeño Paste
For the Jicama Salad
steps
For the Octopus
- Soak octopus in ice water and mix with about 1/8 cup of kosher salt for about 30 minutes to remove any impurities.
- Once soaked, drain and set aside.
- In a sauté pan, toast the peppercorns, bay leaves, and coriander on medium heat approximately 1-1½ minutes, just until you start to get the aroma, then set aside.
- Next, in a medium pot, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on medium heat.
- Add the garlic and sweat for approximately 1 minute, then remove the pan from heat, and add the wine.
- Add the octopus, water, orange rind, rest of olive oil, chile powders, dry oregano, toasted spices, and sprigs of thyme, cover the pot and return to low heat,
- Let the octopus cook until tender (Note: The time will vary based on the octopus itself. Check it after 1 1/2 hours, and the best way to check it is by using a cake tester).
- Discard the cooking liquid and chill octopus in the refrigerators until fully cooled.
- Once cooled, remove the head, the beak, and separate the 8 tentacles.
- To clean each tentacle, take a clean dish towel and remove the bottom part by just scraping with a knife. Keep all of the suckers intact; it’s the best part.
- Once cleaned, set aside.
For the Jalapeño Paste
- Toast the dry chipotle in 3 tablespoons olive oil, then add onion and garlic and sweat on medium heat for approximately 2 minutes or until translucent.
- Add charred tomato and water, cook on low heat, covered, for 20 minutes until chipotle peppers are soft.
- Purée the mixture until smooth, then return the paste to a hot pan with an additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil and “toast” the sauce.
- Bring the heat down immediately to low, add the sale, and cook sauce for approximately 5 minutes.
- Set aside to chill.
For the Jicama Salad
- Peel jicama and chayote, then rinse.
- Julienne fruit, then set aside.
To Assemble
- Heat up the grill and once hot, drizzle the cleaned octopus tentacles with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Char on the grill approximately 4-5 minutes, turning the tentacles constantly to avoid burning.
- Once charred, reserve in a warm place.
- On a large plate, “paint” a little chipotle paste on with a pastry brush or the back of a spoon.
- Toss the jicama and chayote with the lime juice, New Mexico chile powder, and salt to taste.
- Set the jicama salad in the center of the paste and place the charred octopus on top of the salad in a nice manner.
Date Published: 04.17.14
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- from Executive Chef of Victor Meneses of El Camino, Delray Beach, Florida